The development of the nanometer technology marks the beginning of a new era in the history of the integrated circuit, with the implication being that the change in the service life span of the future integrated circuit becomes greater, and that the weight of the future integrated circuit becomes lighter, and that the dimension of the future integrated circuit becomes smaller by intensifying the concentration of pins. In spite of the technological sophistication of the integrated circuit, the commercial value of the integrated circuit in itself is mute. In another words, the integrated circuit must be so packaged as to become a versatile product with a value which is often promoted by a specific brand name. Similarly, the current technological development of the state-of-the-art products, such as PDA, digital camera, notebook computer, GSP, etc., accentuates the advancement in miniaturization and versatility of the products.
The preparation of the integrated circuit involves the circuit design, the wafer fabrication, the wire bonding, the packaging, and the reliability test, thereby resulting in an end product of the so-called circuit element. In the course of wafer level and component level, the burn-in test is used as the primary reliability test. As far as the IC packaging technology is concerned, the integrated circuit is generally packaged by ball grid array (BGA).
The ball grid array packaging technology is relatively efficient in concentrating the pins, thereby resulting in an enhancement in miniaturization and versatility of the integrated circuit. A reliability test was successfully developed in 1997 by Intel Corporation of the United States for testing a component which was packaged by ball grid array. The large-scale production of flash memory was a case in point. The production of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) or direct rambus DRAM also involves the BGA packaging technology described above.
The burn-in test involves the usage of a specifically designed IC socket or connector for testing the vulnerability of deformation of pins or tin balls upon impact, as well as the excessively high contact impedance or short circuit. In addition, the test must be done to study the influence of the environmental temperature and relative humidity on the insulation resistance of the pins or tin balls. Similarly, the test must be carried out to understand the stability of induction and capacitance of the pins or tin balls within a predetermined range, and the relationship between the energy consumption and the ineptness of the pins or tin balls.
As shown in FIG. 1, the conventional IC socket or connector is fixed in conjunction with the circuit design. For example, the central processing unit and the memory are mounted fixedly on a printed circuit board. As far as the IC burn-in test is concerned, the socket is mounted fixedly. In another words, the conventional socket is not compatible with a burn-in test that is intended to test an integrated circuit with a different function. As a result, a variety of sockets must be provided for testing the integrated circuit various in function.
In light of the conventional IC socket being fixed with the printed circuit board, the socket must be replaced in its entirety in the event that the socket is partially damaged or defective. In addition, the IC specification is limited by the conventional socket. Furthermore, the conventional socket can not be used repeated for testing the integrated circuits of different designs and functions. The conventional socket is no longer suitable for use in the testing of an integrated circuit containing numerous pins which are arranged at a minute pitch. In short, the conventional IC socket is obsolete and is not cost-effective.